


The Magic Manifested

by CaiusG



Series: Ralph Hawke – The Rise of a Blood Mage [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 12:38:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17043884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaiusG/pseuds/CaiusG





	The Magic Manifested

**9.42 Dragon** **– in Herald's Rest**

 _"Thin little boy with a puppy. They are coming! I'm not afraid. Never! Nevermore! I will not run away! I will not give him to you! You will not hurt him!"_ –

"Shut up!"

 _"I was a coward, COWARD! I ran, he suffered. ... COWARD!"_ –

"Shut the fuck up!"

_"But. I'm. No. Longer. A COWARD! I'll face you! Just come here! ... Anger. Heat. Red. Take it! Heat. My hands are flaming! How? They're flaming! Screams! Gone. Peace. They will not hurt you anymore! I will not run anymore. I am strong." –_

"It was an accident..."

"I know... – _Mother cries. Why are you crying? Try to hug her. She turns away. Her face... sad. Cold._ " –

"She blamed me..."

"As always, yes? –   _Father coming. Angry? No... It's... different... I don't understand. I did nothing wrong... they wanted to hurt him! Again! I couldn't... let... them! Tears. I don't cry! I..."_ –

"What do you want, spirit?"

"I want to help... it still hurt you. You're not coward. Not a murderer. They're gone... but..."

"Yes, not my fault. _Nothing_ 's my fault. Now leave me, I want to drink my beer. ALONE!"

The air was empty next to him.

... "Spirit! Cole! Wait..."

Ralph sighed.  "Fuck."

His jug has been emptied. _„One more... or two!”_ The yell carried through the tavern – not his tavern, but all taverns are the same.  Except not all taverns have a spirit in them...not all taverns are here...not all taverns have memories carved into the stained tables. This wasn’t _his_ tavern, but it was _a_ tavern.  The ale showed up, and he drank.  
Memories drifted into his brain. Again....

 

**9.14 Dragon – near Redcliffe**

It's been a long time since then. He didn't tell anyone. Sometimes they caught him, beat him, took away his coins – it was not so hard. They were two, and much stronger than him. They threatened him, if he runs, if he tells, they'll catch his mabari. He once saw what they did to a cat. And he ran away and hid when he saw them.  Even now, he still felt deep shame burn at that.

He did not want his father to see his fear, so just went to "play" as usual, but avoided the place where he met them. He felt like a coward. He was sitting under a tree and the puppy ran around him. He fell asleep and dreamed. In his dream, he was big and strong  – like the heroes, in Mother's tales. They begged for their lives...

Suddenly he woke up and saw them – his dog in their hands, disgusting smile on their face. He was terribly afraid but stood up. He can't let it happen again! He must face them!  Somehow. And then he felt like in his dream. He felt grown, tall – taller than them. Stronger. His eyes were feverish, his hands flared up. He stepped toward them, no longer felt fear.

The dog was released and jumped down as they ran, looking for shelter at his feet. _"You will not hurt anymore! You will not hurt anyone anymore!"_ , hissed. His fury exploded, burning the bullies. Bullies no more.  They burned like a torch, their scream one last living protest of fear and pain. Then everything suddenly became silent. It was over.

He was strong. Invincible. Like in his dream!

He didn’t notice the smell of burnt flesh, the bitter soot from hair and clothes.  He _stopped_ them. The puppy was safe. _He’d_ made the puppy safe. He could keep his puppy safe.  
_He didn’t have to be ashamed.  Didn’t have to fear._

*

Mother and Father approached.

 _"You see, I'm strong, can protect myself!"_ He ran to her, and tried to hug her – but Mother turns around. _"Mom, why do you cry? I stopped them, they won’t be a problem now."...",_ It was something he had not seen before in her eyes. Fear. Coldness.

 _"I've defended ourselves the puppy and me. I can help defend the family",_ he explained to Father. But Malcolm Hawke was not proud. And he was not angry. That was different. It was sad.

 _"Do not be angry! I did..."_ A tear rolled over his face. No. He's not crying. He's strong.

_"Come on, boy, we'll go home. Everything will be okay."_

But his stomach clenched.  This time, he didn't know why. It wasn’t shame, but something was wrong.  He looked around. It wasn’t like his dream, suddenly. He was confused. _"What happened to me?"_

 _"Do not be afraid, son. You are a mage just like me."_ Father put his hand on his shoulder protectively.

 _"But you do not live in the Tower you live with us – I know, the mages live in the Tower. Are you a Mali...ficicarium? You did not hurt anyone! Am I a Malificicarium?"_ The word shuddered through him.

_"I'm not a Maleficarum, nor you. You're my son and a mage. Perhaps, "Apostate", but not a Maleficarum. Where did you hear that word?_

_"When we were in Chantry. An old woman said. It sounded bad... evil. They created the Blight and made the Maker sad,"_ whispered. _"I was glad I'm not ... like that... But you did not do that like me... your hand never flared."_

 _"Idiot superstitious old crows,"_ Malcolm hissed, his hands fisted. But audibly he only said: _"You shouldn't do it either. You have to learn to hide it. You're my smart son. You know what they say about those who have the Gift."_

 _"But what kind of Gift is this, if I can not use it?"_ He asked disappointedly.

 _"You can use it. I'll teach you how. But you have to learn_ not _to use it. You have to learn to defend yourself without it. You do not want it to happen again."_ Father’s eyes looked over the two charred bodies and the now-playful puppy.

 _"No,"_ Ralph said and lowered his head to avoid his father's gaze. He was not entirely honest.

The next day they collected their belongings and moved away. 


End file.
